There were only three main characters in the tale: Saint Peter, a blacksmith, and an old man. How was I going to turn that into a romance? It was clearly going to be a M/M story. Being a GLBT author I was excited about this. I didn’t think the old man would make a good love interest, so I turned Saint Peter into a medicine show salesman named Peter Saint and he and the local blacksmith in a small western town fall in love.

A blacksmith and the peddler of snake oil screamed historical western. Historical romance is my favorite genre, so I was feeling even better about my story possibilities. Throw in a little magic, and Bitten by Snake Oil was born.

I must admit that it was the hardest story I’ve had to write so far. The challenge was coming up with a storyline. It seems so simple now, but at the time I was stumped. I am very proud of Bitten by Snake Oil for many reasons. It is the first story I’ve written given based on a prompt of sorts. It is also the first story I’ve written where I struggled and prevailed to get words on a page. I don’t know how many times I felt like I was banging my head against the wall. Now that the story is done it has even spawned a sequel, but information on that is for another blog post.

Here is an excerpt from Bitten by Snake Oil:
A short, wiry man stood on the pullout platform in the back of his brightly colored wagon playing a banjo and singing about a miracle-working elixir. “Peter Saint’s powders and tonics can make the old feel young again and make the blind see. They can make the crippled walk and the ill-tempered gleeful.” Townsfolk doing their Saturday shopping gathered around, taking in the medicine show.

I couldn’t recall the last time a medicine show had come through Tumbleweed. Leaning against the side of my shop, I took in the entertainment from a distance, and my pulse quickened. The man’s strong, melodious voice captivated me. No, if I was truly honest with myself, I was more interested in the way he filled out that sharp salesman’s suit. If only I could peel off his navy-blue striped vest and white shirt to run my hands across the planes of his chest and then open his sable trousers.

The breeze ruffled Mr. Saint’s blond hair under his chestnut-colored derby. The movement drew my attention to the man’s emerald eyes. Realizing I was staring, I bent my head, and my cheeks heated. It must be nearing 100 degrees outside. I grabbed my shirt collar and tugged it up to wipe off some of the sweat oozing down my neck. I struck the match against the side of my shop and lit my pipe. Tobacco wasn’t as good a distraction as a cool glass of whiskey, but it would have to do for the moment.

Taking a puff on my pipe, I tried not to look at the man with the perfect build.

Short Blurb:
After the death of his wife, blacksmith Jed Riker has been fighting his attraction to men. When a sexy medicine-show man comes into Tumbleweed, Kansas, Jed buys his potion hoping for a cure, but gets erotically vivid dreams of the perfectly built salesman instead. He is bitten by snake oil. Dare he act on his fantasies and at what cost?

About the Author:
Shiloh Saddler likes to do research for her steamy romances first hand. She has invented a time machine and travels back to the 19th century on a regular basis. There are experimental settings on her time machine which could propel her into the future and even other worlds. She believes love and a good book makes anything possible.